Friday, December 13, 2024

Island Market

Australia: Bedarra Island Resort Purchased for Eco-Tourism

When Tropical Cyclone Yasi swept the coast of Queensland, the exclusive Bederra Island Resort was among the casualties – now, new owners aim to redevelop with an eco-friendly twist.

(Image Courtesy of Vladi Private Islands)

Luxury-seeking guests used to flock to the 5-star Bedarra Island Resort, found on a stunning 247-acre tropical island along Australia’s Queensland coast, in a prime location on the Great Barrier Reef. Nestled among the property’s rainforests were just 16 unique villas constructed in a breathtaking Modernist style, with a per-day price that started at AUD $950. In the brutal aftermath of February 2011’s Cyclone Yasi, however, the resort was left virtually in ruin; other resorts on the eastern side of the island were eventually rehabilitated after much investment, but the western side was far harder hit by the destructive Category 5 cyclone.

Fortunately, with the recent sale of the property, the approximately 110-acre resort may have found a new lease on life – according to media reports, the resort found a buyer three months after being put on the market by Hideaway Resorts. It was purchased for an undisclosed sum by the Charlton Hotel Group, a Brisbane-based company with numerous local hotels, albeit nothing as unique as the resort on Bedarra. The company has announced their intentions to redevelop the resort into an environmentally-friendly haven, potentially with fewer villas and more sustainable infrastructure.

(Image Courtesy of VPI)

Sam Charlton, the company’s general manager, was quoted in the Australian Property Observer as saying that his group will undertake a sustainability study to determine how to refurbish the damaged resort. “The surrounding reef and rainforest ecosystems are of the utmost importance and we want to ensure these attributes which make the island attractive to today’s guests are maintained and enhanced for future generations to enjoy,” he said. With some luck and hard work, the resort will be back in operation in just over a year – construction is anticipated to begin within a few months, and reservations will be accepted from late in 2012.

Read more about this story: Property Observer

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